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Since 2005, 133 projects have benefited from more than $6.5 million in Commercialization Gap Funds.

Application Process:

  1. 1) Disclose and Assign Technology
  2. 2) Contact Your C4C Tech Manager to Apply to the Program
  3. 3) Submit a Letter of Intent (LOI)
  4. 4) Obtain Customer Feedback
  5. 5) Submit Pre-Proposal
  6. 6) Screening Committee Review
  7. 7) Submit Full Proposal
  8. 8) Proposal Review

STEP 1. Disclose and Assign Technology

The technology under development must first be disclosed to the UW Center for Commercialization (C4C), with rights assigned to UW. The disclosure should be made as early as possible so that C4C staff have sufficient time to evaluate the disclosure, determine any obligations of underlying funding, and assess IP rights well before the deadline.

STEP 2. Contact Your UW C4C Technology Manager to Apply to the CGF Program

After disclosure, contact your C4C Technology Manager to discuss your project and what you may need to move it toward commercialization. Typically, funded projects already have a functional team, which has been meeting with their Technology Manager regularly. Your Technology Manager and the C4C New Venture’s team will assist you in the application process.

Team members available to help you structure your project and proposal will include the following:

Team members will meet with you frequently to help gather concrete market information, assess the competitive landscape, identify potential licensees (if it’s a licensing play) and conduct a patent landscape analysis. This team effort will lead to a strong, commercialization-focused proposal.

STEP 3. Submit a Letter of Intent (LOI)

Letters of Intent will be accepted until 5:00 pm, March 1, 2013. Please submit an email (gapfund@uw.edu) with the following information:

  • PI full name
  • Descriptive title of project in layman terms
  • C4C Technology Manager’s name

STEP 4. Obtain Customer Feedback

We expect that teams will make direct contact with at least five potential customers during this step. Names, their affiliation, and specific feedback will be required in the pre-proposal.

The customer and feedback will be different for every project. We are looking for an understanding of the ecosystem surrounding your technology: who is the customer; who is the purchaser; who is the end-user? What thresholds or milestones would motivate the customer to change from their current practice to adopt your technology? What is the minimal viable product that might serve as a market entry point? What is the initial customer base?

Your C4C Technology Manager, a CGF intern or fellow, and the C4C New Venture’s team can help you obtain customer feedback.

STEP 5. Submit Pre-proposal

The Pre-proposal form includes the following:

  • Abstract. Please provide complete answers to these nine questions (limited to space provided):
    1. In five sentences or fewer, and in layman terms, please describe the core innovation you have created.
    2. What is the product you are working towards?
    3. How is the product unique? What advantages does it offer over the current offerings? How might a competitor seek to copy it?
    4. Who is the customer? Please list the ones you contacted in STEP 4 and their specific feedback.
    5. How large is the addressable market? Please quantify.
    6. Do you have a prototype? Completed solution? Describe where the technology is in its development. What still needs to be done after this funding to get to license and to get to market?
    7. Why is CGF funding necessary to advance this technology towards Commercialization? (i.e., but for CGF funding there is no other mechanism to move it forward.)
    8. Do you see this as a license to an existing company or as a new UW spin out? Why?
    9. If a spin out, what specific role (if any) would you want to play with the new company? Also, list the roles of anyone else participating in the company. How large is the addressable market? Please quantify.
  • Measureable milestones and timeline for the project: Commercialization includes meeting goals in a timely manner. Please provide measurable milestones. If you are unable to meet your milestones within the one year term of the grant, you will be required to reapply in order to release the remaining funding.
  • Budget worksheet and budget justification: The technology development budget is limited to $40,000. Prepare your budget accordingly. An additional $10,000 will be available for additional milestones aimed at developing a scalable business model, and will be determined through discussions with the New Venture’s team.
  • Funding worksheet: Provide a comprehensive list of all previous funding as well as planned funding. Provide the funding source (i.e., NIH, NSF, LSDF, Coulter, ITHS); the funding mechanism (i.e., RO1, SBIR, STTR); the dates of funding (for proposed funding estimate the date you expect to receive the funding); all funded milestones; and indicate whether each milestone was achieved. (You may attach additional pages for the funding worksheet.)

Pre-proposals will be accepted until 5:00 pm, March 29, 2013. Please submit your proposals to gapfund@uw.edu.

Pre-proposals are reviewed internally for compliance and alignment with the rules and goals of the CGF program. Any pre-proposal not conforming to the specific instructions on the form will be rejected. Applicants will be required to wait until the next cycle to resubmit.

Unless the pre-proposal fails to comply with the rules above, all projects will advance to the Screening Committee Review, STEP 6.

STEP 6. Screening Committee Review

Each team will be required to participate in a pitch review session. Two dates will be available to schedule your presentation (April 9 and 10). Come prepared to present a maximum 10 minute pitch of your technology and the commercial opportunity to a panel of EIRs and C4C experts.

PI’s must use the pitch template as a guide for preparing your presentation. You may prepare a single page handout to aid your presentation; however, absolutely NO slides will be allowed.

This pitch review session, in combination with your pre-proposal, will be used by a New Venture’s review committee to determine whether to invite you to submit a full proposal. Committee decisions whether or not your project has been selected for a full proposal will be sent via email within one week of the pitch session. Regardless of whether your proposal is accepted to move on in the process, the review committee will provide constructive feedback for advancing the project development.

STEP 7. Submit Full Proposal

CGF full proposals will be accepted only from teams invited to submit a full proposal. CGF full proposals are due on Friday, May 10, by 5pm. Please submit your proposals to gapfund@uw.edu.

Full proposals include the following:

  • CGF Application Form (CGF-1) for each PI signed by the PI’s Dean and Chair
  • Pre-proposal (Based on feedback during the pitch review session, you may resubmit your complete pre-proposal with updated answers to the six questions and any updates to your budget. If you do not choose to resubmit your pre-proposal, your original submission will be attached to your full proposal for the review committee’s reference.)
  • Proposal body is limited to six pages and must contain the following headings and sub-headings in order:
    • Introduction and rationale
    • Objectives
    • Market analysis
      • Market validation and customer feedback
      • Competitor analysis
      • Path to market
      • IP position
    • Technical Plan
      • Milestone 1 and associated activities
      • Milestone 2 and associated activities
      • Milestone 3 and associated activities
    • Needs/benefits of CGF support including a plan to attract follow-on funding

Any figures or tables MUST be included within the six page limit. Any pages over the six page limit will be removed and not considered. References are limited to one page.

Formatting requirements for the full proposals:

  • The six page limit referenced in the instructions must be followed. Validations will include checks for page limits (and use of appropriate font).
  • All applications and proposals for CGF funding must be self-contained within the six page limit.
  • Font: Arial, Helvetica, Palatino Linotype, or Georgia; black; 11 points or larger. Type density must be no more than 15 characters per inch. Type may be no more than six lines per inch. Use at least half-inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right). Fonts for figure legends must be nine points or larger, and figures MUST be legible.

STEP 8. Proposal Review

If your project reaches the final selection stage, you will have the opportunity to present your innovation in person to a prestigious group of regional executives.

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